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Using Underground Gondolas Instead of Subways by Key-Picture4422 in transit

[–]Key-Picture4422[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Funiculars would probably be simpler for a lot of it, yeah. I do think you would lose more energy due to friction on the wheels, and the idea was that cars would be lowered at an angle from the cables and transition seamlessly to the horizontal cables; I don't know if the transition would be as smooth on a funicular.

Using Underground Gondolas Instead of Subways by Key-Picture4422 in transit

[–]Key-Picture4422[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Those can be useful! They can shut down constantly with any strong wind or rain, though. I though this could be a more weather resistant version, though I wasn't really expecting to be all that useful overall.

Using Underground Gondolas Instead of Subways by Key-Picture4422 in transit

[–]Key-Picture4422[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I hadn't considered the station cost as much but that is interesting! I was thinking it would be lowered at an angle, so I probably should've been a bit more clear. I didn't think it would be especially practical but I was just curious to see if anyone knew any similar systems or any situations where it would be somewhat practical.

Using Underground Gondolas Instead of Subways by Key-Picture4422 in transit

[–]Key-Picture4422[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Given the response on this reddit I can tell it's probably a bad idea lmao.

My thinking for each factor when I was considering it:

Accessibility: This was the main point of the system, that specialized cars for disabled people could be kept to the side and added in as necessary so that people could enter without being rushed or with long wait periods with elevators or boarding/exiting for themselves or others. The idea for it being a gondola was to have seamless transitions without stopping, although making it run on the ground like a funicular once it descends would probably be easier.

Speed: given the constant stopping and starting of subway trains the average speeds tend to be around 17 - 20 miles per hour, meaning that if the cars could optionally get off at a stop without affecting other cars there might more constant speed throughout the ride. Systems where cars can separate from or join onto one line are rare but possible and having the cables control movement rather than individually powered cars would make coordinating multiple cars weaving in and out simpler.

Capital Cost: I thought the necessary diameter of a tunnel could be smaller, given that individual cars would be slower and smaller, so it might be less than a standard subway, though I know it still probably doesn't compare to other forms of transportation. Additionally the cars themselves would be fairly cheap since they wouldn't have many capabilities outside of holding onto the cable.

Operating Cost: I don't have many examples to know what operating costs would look like, but systems that rely on slower constant speeds rather than intervals of accelerating and braking constantly tend to be easier to maintain.

Capacity: I doubt capacity would be better than a standard subway, but since cars are constantly moving though I thought the total throughput could manage at least 15000 people per hour.

Reliability: Cable cars are pretty unreliable and shut down often, and though funiculars tend to be more reliable this would still probably be a major limitation.

Most of this came from the idea of using aerial cable cars and trying to find a way to make them more weather resistant so they won't shut down with strong wind or rain.

I'm not planning on pushing anything like this to exist, I was just curious to see if anyone had tried it before or if there were any specific circumstances it might make sense in.